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David Deutsch

David Deutsch Quotes

Physicist

David Deutsch is a renowned physicist born in 1953. He has made significant contributions to the fields of quantum computing and quantum information, particularly in the research of quantum bits and quantum logic gates. His work has had a profound impact on modern physics and computer science.

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All Explanation Theory Ifs Quantum Problem Reality Universe May Physics Way

Famous David Deutsch Quotes

“This inductively justifies the conclusion that induction cannot justify any conclusions.”

Paradox Self Reference Strange Loop Induction

Author:David Deutsch

“Our misconceptions could be about the reality we are observing, or about how our perceptions are related to it, or both”

Author:David Deutsch

“Solipsism, the theory that only one mind exists and that what appears to be external reality is only a dream taking place in that mind, cannot be logically disproved.”

Philosophy Reality Science Solipsism

Book:The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes--and Its Implications

Source: The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes--and Its Implications

“I chop and change between what is called 'work' and what is called 'recreation.' There are no discontinuities in my day. I only play tennis with people I find interesting.”

People Play Interest Interesting Tennis Recreation Discontinuity

Author:David Deutsch

“The theory that the biosphere was created without evolution, a few thousand years ago, is ruled out by overwhelming scientific evidence. To claim that there are 'alternative (always better) Biblical explanations of the same data', which make creationism a reasonable alternative to our best theories of biology and physics, is appalling intellectual dishonesty.”

“I myself believe that there will one day be time travel because when we find that something isn't forbidden by the over-arching laws of physics we usually eventually find a technological way of doing it.”

Way Believe Law One Day Travel Physics Time Travel Technological Funny Travel Forbidden Laws Of Physics

Author:David Deutsch

“The quantum theory of parallel universes is not the problem, it is the solution. It is not some troublesome, optional interpretation emerging from arcane theoretical considerations. It is the explanation - the only one that is tenable - of a remarkable and counter-intuitive reality.”

“Like every other destruction of optimism, whether in a whole civilisation or in a single individual, these must have been unspeakable catastrophes for those who had dared to expect progress. But we should feel more than sympathy for those people. We should take it personally. For if any of those earlier experiments in optimism had succeeded, our species would be exploring the stars by now, and you and I would be immortal.”

People Ifs Feels Should Has Beens Whole Would Be Individual Stars Progress Destruction Optimism Species Experiments Immortal Exploring Catastrophe Civilisation Unspeakable

Author:David Deutsch

“The whole [scientific] process resembles biological evolution. A problem is like an ecological niche, and a theory is like a gene or a species which is being tested for viability in that niche.”

Whole Problem Process Theory Evolution Species Genes Tested Niche Ecological Biological Evolution

Author:David Deutsch

“Feeling insignificant because the universe is large has exactly the same logic as feeling inadequate for not being a cow.”

Feelings Universe Logic Cows Insignificant Inadequate

Author:David Deutsch

“Base metals can be transmuted into gold by stars, and by intelligent beings who understand the processes that power stars, but by nothing else in the universe.”

Universe Stars Process Gold Intelligent Metals

Author:David Deutsch

“Is the human race a universal constructor?”

Humans Race Universal Human Race

Author:David Deutsch

“It is possible to build a virtual-reality generator whose repertoire includes every possible environment.”

Reality Environment Virtual Reality Generator

Author:David Deutsch

“Our best theories are not only truer than common sense, they make more sense than common sense...”

Common Theory Common Sense

Book:The Fabric of Reality

Source: The Fabric of Reality

“Humans may or may not have cosmic significance, and if they do, it will be by hitching a ride on the objective centrality of knowledge in the cosmic scheme of things.”

Ifs Humans May Objectives Significance Cosmic Schemes

Author:David Deutsch

“If you can’t program it, you haven’t understood it.”

Ifs Havens Understood Program

Author:David Deutsch

“Despite the unrivaled empirical success of quantum theory, the very suggestion that it may be literally true as a description of nature is still greeted with cynicism, incomprehension, and even anger.”

May Stills Theory Despite Description Cynicism Quantum Suggestions Quantum Theory Incomprehension

Author:David Deutsch

“Discovering a new explanation is inherently an act of creativity.”

Creativity Explanation Discovering

Author:David Deutsch

“No precautions, and no precautionary principle, can avoid problems that we do not yet foresee. We need a stance of problem-fixing, not just problem-avoidance.”

Needs Problem Inspiration Motivation Principles Activism Avoidance Fixing Stance Precaution

Author:David Deutsch

“Quantum computation is a distinctively new way of harnessing nature. It will be the first technology that allows useful tasks to be performed in collaboration between parallel universes.”

Way Firsts Universe Technology Tasks Collaboration Quantum New Ways Parallels Computation Parallel Universe

Author:David Deutsch

“If we can't program it, we can't understand it.”

Ifs Program Programming

Author:David Deutsch

“If you reject the infinite, you are stuck with the finite, and the finite is parochial... the best explanation of anything eventually involves universality, and therefore infinity. The reach of explanations cannot be limited by fiat.”

Ifs Infinite Stuck Explanation Rejects Infinity Finite Universality

Author:David Deutsch

“Time travel may be achieved one day, or it may not. But if it is, it should not require any fundamental change in world-view, at least for those who broadly share the world view I am presenting in this book.”

Ifs World Should May Book Change Views Share One Day Fundamentals Time Travel Presenting World View

Author:David Deutsch

“Every problem that is interesting is also soluble.”

Problem Interesting

Author:David Deutsch

“The truly privileged theories are not the ones referring to any particular scale of size or complexity, nor the ones situated at any particular level of the predictive hierarchy - but the ones that contain the deepest explanations.”

Levels Particular Theory Size Scales Explanation Complexity Privileged Hierarchy Referring

Book:The Fabric of Reality

Source: The Fabric of Reality

“The overwhelming majority of theories are rejected because they contain bad explanations, not because they fail experimental tests.”

Failing Theory Tests Majority Explanation Overwhelming Rejected

Book:The Fabric of Reality

Source: The Fabric of Reality

“Science is objective. And in my view we cannot take any experimental results seriously except in the light of good explanations of them.”

Light Results Views Objectives Explanation

Author:David Deutsch

“To me quantum computation is a new and deeper and better way to understand the laws of physics, and hence understanding physical reality as a whole.”

Way Whole Reality Law Understanding Deeper Physics Quantum Better Ways Laws Of Physics Computation

Author:David Deutsch

“Where we have good, testable explanations, they then have to be tested, and we drop the ones that fail the tests.”

Failing Tests Explanation Tested

Author:David Deutsch

“I don't think it would be a good idea for scientists to have more political power. Scientists as a group are more inclined to try to derive an ought from an is, than the population at large.”

Thinking Trying Ideas Would Be Political Groups Ought Scientist Population Good Ideas Political Power

Author:David Deutsch

“The brain is the only kind of object capable of understanding that the cosmos is even there, or why there are infinitely many prime numbers, or that apples fall because of the curvature of space-time, or that obeying its own inborn instincts can be morally wrong, or that it itself exists.”

Kind Fall Understanding Space Numbers Brain Objects Capable Instinct Apples Cosmos Prime Obeying Space Time Prime Numbers

Author:David Deutsch

“The most important application of quantum computing in the future is likely to be a computer simulation of quantum systems, because that's an application where we know for sure that quantum systems in general cannot be efficiently simulated on a classical computer.”

Knows Important Computer Application Quantum Computing Simulation

Author:David Deutsch

About the Author

Born: 1953
Known for: Physicist
Quotes: 32

Related Topics

Explanation Theory Ifs Quantum Problem Reality Universe May Physics Way

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

The Fabric of RealityRelated source material

The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes--and Its ImplicationsRelated source material

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